1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a system that facilitates closure of openings in blood vessels. More specifically, the present invention delivers a material adjacent a vessel.
2. Description of the Related Art
In many medical procedures, it is necessary to locate an opening in tissue so that some form of treatment, diagnosis or revision, can be applied to that opening. For example, in order to perform transluminal balloon angioplasty, an opening is created in an artery in order to insert a catheter for delivering a balloon within the blood vessel. This opening must later be closed.
Transluminal balloon angioplasty is used in the treatment of peripheral vascular disease to increase or restore blood flow through a significantly narrowed artery in a limb; it is also used in the treatment of blockage of the coronary arteries. In fact, coronary angioplasty has emerged as a major viable alternative to bypass surgery for revascularization of stenotic and occluded coronary arteries. Unlike bypass surgery, angioplasty does not require general anesthesia, opening of the chest wall, use of a heart-lung machine, or transfusion of blood. Angioplasty is not only less invasive and less traumatic to the patient, but is also less expensive because of the shorter hospital stay and shorter recovery time.
Transluminal balloon angioplasty is performed by first inserting a hollow needle through the skin and surrounding tissues and into the patient's femoral artery. A guidewire is advanced through the hollow needle and into the artery, then along the patient's vasculature toward the site of the blocked blood vessel or valve to be treated. Radiographic imaging is used to help guide the guidewire through the vascular system and into position adjacent the stenosis to be treated. A balloon catheter is then threaded over the guidewire and advanced until the deflated balloon is within the stenosis. The balloon is then repeatedly inflated to widen the narrowed blood vessel. After the procedure is complete, the catheter and guidewire are withdrawn from the blood vessels and the patient.
After the catheter used during angioplasty is removed, the puncture wound in the femoral artery must be closed and the bleeding through the puncture site in the artery stopped. Often, ice packs and/or pressure are applied to the area surrounding the wound for a period lasting up to several hours in an attempt to stop the bleeding. There exists, however, a significant chance that the wound will reopen and begin bleeding again when the patient moves. Another possible complication is the development of a false aneurysm, which increases the risks of both infection and reopening.
Efforts have been made to close the puncture wound using staples, clips, collagen plugs, and sutures. These efforts, and the devices incident thereto, tend to be cumbersome and complicated and involve significant potential for dangerous complications. For example, if foreign matter, such as collagen, intrudes into the blood vessel, it could prompt blood clotting, leading to undesirable consequences.
Various other treatments and diagnostic procedures involve catheters advanced through a blood vessel. Such procedures necessitate closure of the access hole into the vessel. Further, other wounds in the vasculature of a patient can also be difficult to locate, access and close. Thus, a device and method to facilitate locating and closing such wounds in the vasculature of a patient would be beneficial. A device having the ability to consistently and reliably locate, isolate and close the puncture wound would eliminate the prolonged bleeding currently associated with such wounds.